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December 27, 2005
As a unique website filling the space between academic journalism and contemporary blog, Voices from the Gaps (VG) helps to navigate the literary spectrum for women writers and artists of color. However, while VG attempts to negotiate boundaries, it becomes an unwilling enforcer of the very system it is attempting to subvert, with regard to a feminist representation in literature and the arts. VG utilizes the reality of the status of the female of color in literature and art in the past, by accenting the notion and perspective of race as a boundary. However, this boundary is flexible and limited by geographical perspective. Thus outside of the United States, many types of women who might be classified as “white” or “Caucasian” within the US are accepted by the VG site as women of color – for example, Jewish women in Brazil are accepted, while American white Jewish women are not. VG has the difficult task: It must critique and reinforce the dominant culture, including standards of the academy. As a tool of negotiation for women, VG is a symbol of empowerment for writers, students, both within and without the academy. The women whose work appears on VG demonstrate the variety of literary range, while struggling against how being limited by race and gender reinforces the very disempowering beliefs VG is meant to eliminate. The writer is the basic center of the toolbox. The reality of the female writer of color is still one of near-invisibility, although VG’s existence, numerous website hits and increased requests for and a willingness to submit new author pages demonstrates hope for the future. One area of difficulty in negotiation is the still-persistent attention to how writers appear physically, as opposed to addressing the content, style and excellence of their writing. From a marketing perspective, one positive aspect of VG is that the outer “packaging” dilemma is resolved: Writers who perhaps are not very glamorous are not supplanted by beautiful models who reflect the cultural or stereotypical expectations which then sell books. The celebrity writer is one who is not featured on VG because she has an audience, and a powerful negotiation tool in her very fame. VG is unique because the contributors range from undergraduate to graduate students, from teachers to college professors to other writers themselves. This egalitarian approach means that the women featured on VG as a whole are able to wield a larger share of power due to the presence of an international website and international contribution and participation. VG as a tool for negotiation is just the start of what hopefully will be a series of steps forward in maintaining and consolidating feminine power in the area of literature and the arts.
Posted by LaurenCurtright at December 27, 2005 08:42 AM
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